Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined 32 colleagues in writing to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb asking how the government shutdown has impacted the FDA and its work to protect public health. Warner and Kaine wrote out of concern about how the shutdown’s effects on the FDA could harm Virginians. “The shutdown has severely limited federal oversight of the nation’s food supply and medical products and may r...Continue Reading

Watch here: https://timkaine.box.com/s/u2vphs4p46sdkx4e0rlj2m2igqh9yfx2 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine highlighted the pain President Trump’s shutdown is causing federal workers, including public safety professionals, in Virginia and across the country. On Friday, hundreds of thousands of public servants began receiving paychecks for $0. As of this weekend, President Trump has now caused the longest shutdown in history. ...Continue Reading

~ Md. & Va. Senators express concern about the effect of a prolonged shutdown on vital transportation networks ~ WASHINGTON – Today Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), along with Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD), wrote a letter to Paul J. Wiedefeld, General Manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), seeking information on the impact that the partial government shutdown has had on WMATA’s transit system, ridership, operati...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine applauded House passage of a Senate bill he helped champion to guarantee back pay as soon as possible for federal workers who go without a paycheck during the government shutdown. On Wednesday, Kaine lodged an objection to the Senate adjourning for the weekend while hundreds of thousands of federal employees – many of them Virginians – were set to miss paychecks starting today. His objection led to negotiations with Senate Majori...Continue Reading

Virginia is home to 170,000 federal employees and tens of thousands of federal contractors WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined 32 colleagues in writing to the Trump Administration urging them to direct federal agencies to work with contractors to pay low- and middle-income employees for the wages they have lost during the shutdown. The Senators point out that federal contracting officers typically have existing authority that allows them to modify th...Continue Reading

~ Bill would cut costs for 43 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D ~  WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 29 other Senators in reintroducing legislation today to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs—a move that would cut costs for nearly 43 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D. “Medicare Part D enrolls over 43 million seniors nationwide, meaning that they have enorm...Continue Reading

Last night, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sent a letter to their Democratic colleagues urging them to refuse to conduct business as usual on the floor of the Senate this week. They argue that the first vote we take this year should be to end the government shutdown. “We write to urge you to join us in voting against the motion to proceed on Tuesday evening because the Senate should vote on the House-passed Appropriati...Continue Reading

~ Letter requests answers from the Department of Treasury on how the short-staffed IRS will process tax returns for Virginia families ~ WASHINGTON – Today Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking how Virginia taxpayers will be affected by the government shutdown, which has left the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) short-staffed and potentially underprepared for the beginning of the 2019 tax-filing season. Funding for the IRS lap...Continue Reading

Virginia is home to 170,000 federal employees and tens of thousands of federal contractors  WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced plans to introduce legislation to secure back pay for the federal contractors who have gone without pay during the government shutdown. Warner and Kaine were joined by Senators Tina Smith, Sherrod Brown, Chris Van Hollen, and Ben Cardin. Each day, thousands of federal contractors provide critical services to support the federa...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a bill to reopen the government last night and sent it over to the Senate to consider: “Yesterday, the House passed funding bills that the Senate already supported in the last Congress. Leader McConnell should let us take a vote on those bills to reopen government and force President Trump to decide whether to sign them. Virginia is home to m...Continue Reading

~ The American Miners Act of 2019 will also fund the black lung trust fund ~ Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced the American Miners Act of 2019, legislation that would secure pensions and healthcare benefits for our nation’s retired coal miners – including 500 Virginians affected by the recent bankruptcy of a Colorado-based mining company. “Congress made a promise in 1946 to protect coal miners after a lifetime of arduous a...Continue Reading

Currently, 420,000 federal workers are being forced to work without pay, and another 380,000 federal workers were sent home over the holidays without pay. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined 28 colleagues, led by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME), in introducing legislation to guarantee back pay as soon as possible for federal workers who go without a payche...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was sworn in to the 116th United States Congress in a ceremony on the floor of the U.S. Senate. U.S. Senator Mark Warner escorted Kaine to the floor. Kaine was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012 and reelected in 2018. In the 116th Congress, Kaine will continue to serve on the Senate Armed Services; Foreign Relations; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and Budget Committees. Download video of Kaine’s official swearing in, her...Continue Reading

Legislation authorizes $100 million over five years to develop a public health approach that will improve prevention, treatment, and care for Alzheimer’s  Approximately 5.5 million Americans are currently living with this disease  Washington, D.C. - Last night, the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act—legislation that, for the first time, will create a public health infrastructure across the country to combat Alzheimer’s diseas...Continue Reading

~ Senate had approved 1.9 percent pay increase on a bipartisan basis but on December 28, the President unilaterally imposed a pay freeze for non-military federal workers ~  WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him in the strongest possible terms to back off a planned pay freeze...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today after the Navy announced its intent to block buy two Ford-class aircraft carriers: “I’m thrilled the Navy has decided to pursue a block buy for aircraft carriers, something I’ve been advocating to save billions in taxpayer dollars and offer more certainty to the Hampton Roads defense community. This smart move will save taxpayer dollars and he...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine celebrated that the bill to rename a Charlottesville post office as the “Captain Humayun Khan Post Office” was signed into law today. U?.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, a graduate of the University of Virginia, was born on September 9, 1976, and died on June 8, 2004, while in service to his country during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was killed by an improvised explosive device outside of his base in Baqu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement on President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Syria: “Just this month, military leaders confirmed to me that there were no plans to change our military strategy in Afghanistan. The President’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria and Afghanistan on a whim are the latest in a series ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement on the resignation of Secretary of Defense James Mattis: “Secretary Mattis has served this country with distinction and honor for nearly five decades. He is one of the finest public servants I have worked with in 24 years in public life. Mattis protects this nation against the worst instincts of a President who puts our national security at ri...Continue Reading

~ Legislation includes other Warner-Kaine priorities to increase Chesapeake Bay clean-up funding, protect Va. agricultural products, prevent animal abuse, and fund SNAP ~ WASHINGTON – Today, President Trump signed into law a compromise package that includes Virginia priorities championed by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA). These include an increase in funding for Chesapeake Bay clean-up efforts, protections for Virginia agricultural products, increased protections to pr...Continue Reading